Monash University academics David Dunstan and Tom Heenan are writing a new study on the life and legend of Don Bradman, whom they describe as an acquisitive, ruthless, and self-interested loner. In short, “an extremely peculiar Australian”.

This (English needs an eqivalent of the Latin "iste" which means "that" coupled with a scornful sneer) one sided, pejorative laden, context free shattering of the Bradman myth is textbook click bait. As Monash academics, you would hope their "new study" is a more fully rounded appraisal of Bradman's life, career and legacy and not a position paper in the left-right battle over Bradman's reputation.

In a bizarre twist of bureaucracy, British tabloid journalists John Etheridge (The Sun), Dean Wilson (The Mirror) and Paul Newman (Daily Mail) look like being sent home by Australia's immigration department.

Shaun Marsh was picked for the South African tour because "He's in a good space at the moment Shaun," according to John Inverarity.

Ignoring Inverarity's backward sentencing ("he's ... Shaun"), which much surely appal Invers the Headmaster, and the seemingly extraordinary fact that a player can now be picked for the Test squad because he is "in a good space," there is nothing wrong with the Australian National Selection Panel Group dropping George Bailey. The short form skipper was a noble experiment on the heels of his one day form and reputed leadership qualities, but he needed to take his chances in the Ashes. He did not.

The question is: who's next? Looking at Shield numbers alone, it is almost impossible to justify Marsh's selection.

Name

Team

Runs

HS

Ave

North, MJ

WA

593

145

98.83

White, CL

VIC

556

131

50.55

Hughes, PJ

SA

549

204

61

Cooper, TLW

SA

512

171

51.2

Head, TM

SA

466

98

42.36

Dunk, BR

TAS

445

89

40.45

Quiney, RJ

VIC

436

89

43.6

Voges, AC

WA

433

235

72.17

Carters, RGL

NSW

428

154

61.14

Forrest, PJ

QLD

423

129

52.88

Silk, JC

TAS

421

107

35.08

Whiteman, SM

WA

419

87

52.38

Maddinson, NJ

NSW

418

87

38

Cowan, EJM

TAS

414

123

41.4

Lynn, CA

QLD

405

81

57.86

Handscomb, PSP

VIC

394

94

32.83

Doolan, AJ

TAS

391

132

39.1

Bancroft, CT

WA

386

93

35.09

Henry, SO

NSW

365

76

36.5

Pomersbach, LA

QLD

357

159

89.25

Smith, SPD

NSW

317

107

63.4

Marsh, MR

WA

307

96

38.38

Burns, JA

QLD

305

102

50.83

Wade, MS

VIC

302

119

33.56

Rogers, CJL

VIC

297

117

49.5

Ferguson, CJ

SA

289

110

72.25

Klinger, M

SA

287

125

35.88

Hartley, CD

QLD

285

89

47.5

Hussey, DJ

VIC

274

85

39.14

Paine, TD

TAS

265

78

33.13

Warner, DA

NSW

264

104

52.8

Khawaja, UT

QLD

255

64

31.88

Botha, J

SA

253

65

28.11

Marsh, SE

WA

248

127

31

Read down the list and cross out the obvious: Quiney, Cowan, Doolan, Smith, Wade, Rogers, Hussey, Paine, Warner, Khawaja and Botha. Have I missed anyone? Probably Hughes, since the selectors would be reluctant to give him another shot so soon after dropping him for the third time.

That still leaves a huge number of batsmen ahead of Marsh. A huge number of batsmen ahead of Doolan, for that matter.

Inverarity is well respected in world cricket circles and there are no obvious candidates pummelling the portal with runs, but if the Marsh selection bombs "in a good space" will rival "informed player management" for cricket fans' sledge of choice.

I don't suppose I can interest you blokes in training tonight? It will be none but the brave. Como Park.

52 years old. (Not "of age".) Haven't played for 22 years. Malingering somewhere between unfit and unhealthy. 43 degrees.

None but the stupid in my case. I said yes.

Setting up the nets I was starting to flag. Several balls in, some in the general vicinity of a good area and only one approximating utter filth, but all accompanied by loud creaks of shoulder and both groins, I was flat on my back on the grass gasping for breath and squirting water on my head. A couple more mini-spells punctuated by trips to the water fountain and my first cricket training since Cox Plate week 1991 was over. Didn't even have the energy for a bat and a chance to "hit 'em well in the nets" or, most probably, get well hit in the nets.

Extracting the positives, I did not bowl long enough to be sore today.

Now, people, what you must keep in mind is that the England Cricket Board Fast Bowling Group did not start tinkering with Steven Finn's action because they thought it just needed a little tweak. What you need to ask yourselves is "why"? Why, if Finn was ripping apart batting line-ups, did England, David Saker, Middlesex and Angus Fraser start giving Finn the alleged "conflicting advice" and start changing his action?

England are considering ending the torment of Steven Finn by sending him home early from his nightmare tour of Australia.

Finn, one of the best fast bowlers in the world this time last year, has lost all confidence and rhythm during this Ashes tour and has not been trusted in a single international game despite England using a record 18 players during the Ashes.

The post below may point you in the right direction. The oblivious commenters at Barney Ronay's article may not.

Good oil reaches the AGB that the England camp has been warned about the, shall we say, architecture and harmony of Steven "Skinny" Finn's action. Read Barney Ronay and pay special attention to what he has written between his lines:

Steven Finn, England's own talented, statistically prodigious man-of-the-moment-before-last, whose falling away from the front rank is one of the more puzzling base notes of a generally puzzling tour of Australia. The ballad of Steven Finn is, in outline, a narrative of disappearance.

Last week at practice in Melbourne he could be seen sidling in to bowl at three-quarter speed in an empty net. A bit later Finn and Alastair Cook spent a few minutes running though the basic business of turning the bowling arm over in a straight-arm arc.

We started the summer calling him Skinny Finn (after his fatty namesake), but ended the summer calling him Filthy Finn (after his filthy bowling).

I note also that he bowled with a fair bit of variety last night and that his action was ungainly (I didn't get a good enough look to say it was chucky) as he sought to unveil an array of different balls. Which brings me to a more general question: do bowlers run the risk of falling foul of 15 degrees as they try to bowl more and more quirky and unnatural balls?

A bit of a laugh, they said. Just a hit and giggle. Twenty20 cricket couldn't last; it wasn't the same. Audiences have proved the naysayers wrong - and hasn't it made TV executives smile?

T20 is a bit of a laugh. It is hit and giggle (and slather and whack). It isn't the same. But as far as I'm aware, rock all naysayers said it wouldn't last; and just who are these naysayers? Contrary to what sounds like press release regurgitation, plenty of people said the Big Bash would get a boost moving from cable to FTA.

"Test purist colleagues" plural is curious. The bullshit detector pings when more than one person is quoted using the same words, in this case "strangely addictive". But the BSD could be jumping at shadows.

Note: I've only seen about 20 minutes of the BBL. Been stuck home waiting for my call up to stand in a box and catch sixes.

England cricket flop Monty Panesar put a humiliating Ashes defeat behind him – by trying to tempt a blonde to his room at the team’s hotel. The spin bowler chatted her up using a dating phone app four hours after bowling the final ball in a Fourth Test spanking by Australia.

In The Odyssey, Homer turned the ten years it took Ulysses to return home from the Trojan War into a majestic myth. Is ten years long enough for all concerned to turn The Argus Report into a majestic myth about Australian cricket's return to Number One?

Don Argus will not be prepared to call his review a success until Australia is ranked No.1 in all three formats, and has singled out succession planning as ''the big issue'' confronting the triumphant Ashes team.